Humans

Der Entomologische Verein Krefeld, der seit 1905 Insekten erforscht, hat festgestellt, dass in den letzten 20 Jahren 80% unserer Fluginsekten verschwunden sind: http://80.153.81.79/~publ/mitt-evk-2013-1.pdf . Mit in 2 Malaise-Fallen gefangenen Insekten wurden dieser Verlust in einem Naturschutzgebiet ermittelt. Nicht nur eine industrialisierte Landwirtschaft und die damit verbundene Vernichtung der Lebensräume von Insekten sind dafür ursächlich.

Use of glyphosate-based herbicides (GBHs) increased ∼100-fold from 1974 to 2014. Additional increases are expected due to widespread emergence of glyphosateresistant weeds, increased application of GBHs, and preharvest uses of GBHs as desiccants. Current safety assessments rely heavily on studies conducted over 30 years ago. We have considered information on GBH use, exposures, mechanisms of action, toxicity and epidemiology. Human exposures to glyphosate are rising, and a number of in vitro and in vivo studies challenge the basis for the current safety assessment of glyphosate and GBHs.

A new study from the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research has revealed a potential link between professional pesticide treatments in the home and a higher risk of children developing brain tumours. Published this week in the international journal Cancer Causes & Control, the study found that exposure by parents to professional pesticide treatments prior to conception could increase the chances of a child developing a brain tumour.

If you look just at the numbers, you might think autism rates are spiraling out of control. The rates seemed high enough at 1 in 150 in 2000, when public health officials started tracking a steady rise in the syndrome in the United States. And by the time estimates finally flatlined in 2012 at 1 in 68, many parents had embraced unfounded theories blaming vaccines for an autism “epidemic,” helping to fuel outbreaks of measles and other once rare diseases.

It was only in 2015 that the US Geological Survey first studied whether neonicotinoid residue shows up in streams (it does), and new research from the University of Iowa is the first to find it in drinking water. This new study tested water from drinking taps throughout Iowa City for neonicotinoid presence. Iowa City is on the smaller side, with an estimated population of fewer than 75,000, but its presence in a largely agricultural state makes it well-placed to see how nearby pesticide use can affect an urban area.

High exposure to pesticides as a result of living near farmers’ fields appears to increase the risk of giving birth to a baby with “abnormalities” by about 9 per cent, according to new research. Researchers from the University of California, Santa Barbara, compared 500,000 birth records for people born in the San Joaquin Valley between 1997 and 2011 and levels of pesticides used in the area. The average use of pesticides over that period was about 975kg for each 2.6sq km area per year.

The occurrence of pesticides intended for non-agricultural use was investigated in 206 dust samples drawn from vacuum-cleaner bags from residential flats in Italy. The results indicated the presence of imidacloprid (IMI) in 30% of the samples. According to the estimated dust intake in infants/toddlers aged 6–24 months (16–100 mg d−1) and cats (200 mg d−1), it was possible to obtain risk characterization with respect to the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) for IMI of 0.060 mg/kg body weight (bw) proposed by EFSA and the chronic Population Adjusted Dose (cPAD) of 0.019 mg/kg bw d−1 by US-EPA.

Every year toward the beginning of rainy season, dense clouds of black salt marsh mosquitoes begin rising from the Everglades and coastal wetlands and descending upon Miami. For years, Miami and the Keys have fought back with a powerful tool: permethrin, a pesticide effective at killing the insects before they can make life miserable for South Florida.